The Inland Northwest is a land of contrast. Within a 2-4 hour drive in different directions from Spokane, the region’s de facto capital, you can be hiking subalpine peaks in the Rocky Mountains; dodging rattlesnakes in Hells Canyon, the deepest gorge in North America; or walking beneath ancient old-growth cedar trees in a lush temperate rainforest. It’s normal for many of us who live here and love the outdoors to bounce around these very diverse landscapes without giving it too much thought: the Frank Church Wilderness one weekend, the Columbia Plateau Trail the next. The Imnaha River Trail in Hells Canyon, then maybe Upper Priest River a few weeks later. Desert to mountains, sagebrush to devils club.
Now imagine linking up all of these incredibly different places into one long, 1,500-mile loop (starting and ending in Spokane) that could be walked in one summer-long thru-hike or section-by-section over a period of years. Five years ago, I started dreaming about such a route. Soon the dreaming turned to scheming over maps and guidebooks. Then long exploratory hikes to see what certain sections of old trail looked like out on the ground. Eventually I became convinced that such a route was not only possible, but, because of all of the incredibly scenic and varying landscapes the trail would pass through, that it would be an amazing addition to the world of long-distance trails. By then I’d started calling the route the Inland Northwest Trail (INT) and soon decided to form a Friends of the Inland Northwest Trail group to help get the route established and ready to hike (read more about the story here). Today I’m launching this web site and plan to write regular blog posts here to provide updates and share stories and photos from the trail. This summer, I’ll be out on the INT with friends and volunteers fine tuning the route whenever I can and am starting to write a guidebook for the trail. Thanks for your interest in the INT and for visiting our site. Please check back often for updates and consider supporting this all-volunteer trail effort.
Derrick Knowles, INT Founder
inwtrail@gmail.com
Friends of the Inland Northwest Trail 